Lost: Some Series Finale Questions and (We Think) Answers

by Trevor Kimball, May 24, 2010

We’ve been getting a whole lot of questions and comments about the Lost finale. So, we’ve put together some answers based on what we saw and can put together. Some it is conjecture since we don’t have absolute answers to some of the questions but they seem to make sense based on what we do know.

Did the characters all die in the plane crash of Oceanic 815?
No. Their story on the island really happened in their lives — from when Jack opened his eyes in the pilot until he closed them in the finale. The part that didn’t happen in the real world was the so-called flash-sideways that we started seeing in season six.

What was the “flash-sideways”?
Christian Shephard tells his son that it was created by the group as a way to find each other once they’d all died and were ready to move on. These people were all connected and experienced the most important time in their lives together. It seems like a purgatory where they could also work out their issues. Jack worked out his daddy issues via his son (who wasn’t real). Christian also tells Jack, “Everyone dies sometime,” and that some of the people died before he did and some died long afterwards.

Would you have skipped the afterlife aspect?

Why wasn’t Gin and Sun’s child in the church?
Probably because she ultimately didn’t have a big connection to her parents. She never met Jin and Sun left and died when she was very young.

Why wasn’t Walt in the church?
Presumably because the island didn’t play a big impact in his life as a whole. He was only there for a few months as a child.

Why wasn’t Miles in the church?
He seemed to have a good relationship with his dad and perhaps wanted to spend more time with him because he didn’t get to in life.

Why wasn’t Daniel in the church?
Desmond told his mother that it wasn’t time for him yet. She seemed relieved and likely wanted to spend more time with him. Daniel had also just connected with Charlotte.

Why didn’t Ben go into the church?
He said that he wasn’t ready yet and still had some things to work out. He did do some good stuff but had killed a lot of people. We know by his conversation with Hurley that he played his role as #2, the “new Richard,” very well.

What happened to Michael?
As we saw in a previous episode, his spirit is still on the island, whispering with the other bad people. Sad.

Did the plane with Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Claire, Lapidus, and Richard crash?
No reason to think it did. The plane wreckage we saw with the final credits is what was left from the original crash. It’s very rusty and in the same place on the beach. Turns out ABC added the final credits images.

Did Desmond get off the island?
Hurley asks Ben to help him get Desmond get home. One would assume they did, though the exact “how” isn’t clear.

How was Kate able to kill fake Locke?
When Desmond pulled the stone cork, it seemed that the island’s power was turned off. The island was being destroyed and both Jack (as the new Jacob) and fake Locke could hurt one another and be killed. When Jack replaced the stone cork, the island power was restored.

Why did the producers do the afterlife ending?
Only they know for sure. Other than it being an interesting storytelling device, it was perhaps the only possible way to give any kind of happy ending to most of these characters. Without it, we wouldn’t have seen characters like Boone, Jin, Sun, Libby, or Sayid after their deaths. We’d just be left with a handful of survivors who survived the brutal island experience. It seemed like most people were hoping for some kind of happy ending for the characters and that’s what we got.

What do you think? Would you have preferred to have an ending where only a few survived and just ended with Jack’s death?

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If they lived their life on the Island and that was real. What about after the Bomb? Wouldn’t everybody be dead at theat point. what about the scene where the island is under water? I understand the other reality but was life after Bomb real?

The bomb didnt actually detonate in the way a nuclear device is expected to,(due to the unique properties within the pocket of energy) All that happened was the 14th and final timeflash sending Jack and co back to their correct time. So yes, everything after the Incident was also real.

For Loriamsler, yes. Everything on the island happened. The sideways flashes were years later in a timeless purgatory after everyone had already lived out their lives (on or off the island) and died. They all started to realize they were dead and started to recognize one another from the island and then they could reunite together and ‘move on’ to the big afterlife. We just happened to see it from Jack’s perspective – so we didn’t see the rest of everyone’s life that lived on after Jack died.

Well, in response to “That Guy”, I have to say that I didn’t miss the point. I loved the brilliant character development and I think I tipped my hat to that in my last comment. I just don’t think that it is myopic to have been just as interested in the island itself, as in the people on the island. I mean, there was a physics professor at Berkeley who was citing Lost episodes in class because people were so interested in how the island worked. I know that there are some blissfully happy and fulfilled folks out there who… Read more »

I like Vicki’s ending above. However, as for ther “real” show, I was sorely disappointed. I totally GET what they were trying to do but for me, it left too many questions unanswered. Many authors do that. Write a great story or screen play then leave the ending up to the reader/viewer. I HATE THAT! If that makes money then anyone can write a story without a satisfying ending. What’s the point except to tic off the reader/viewer? The show “Damages” had the best finale EVER. It tied up EVERY loose end that was presented throughout the season. It’s at… Read more »

Thanks Robin! I agree with you too. Totally true that if Desmond was the only one special enough to stand the “electromagnetic heat”, how did Jack survived then? Wouldn’t that make Desmond pointless…? There are several loose pieces; some of them I could have forgiven, but only in exchange of the fundamental answers of the “what” & “why” of the island. It was like taking us all the way thru Mordor to destroy the ring, whithout explaining what it was or why it had to disapear, either at the begining or the end of the journey. Can you imagine The… Read more »

@Hansi Rojas: Regarding the “electromagnetic heat,” it seemed to be turned off until Jack put the stopper back in. Once he did that, the light was getting more and more intense. He was then thrown (we assume) out of the cave and died soonafter. It could have been the stab wound or the exposure to the “electromagnetic heat” that ultimately killed him.

With a series as complex and mysterious as Lost, I thought the ending was as good as it could have been. Things wrapped up nicely with the characters on the island. There were survivors that were able to escape, Hurley and Ben stayed behind to protect the island (a move that made sense), and while Jack’s death was sad, with all the twists throughout the series, I wouldn’t classify it as shocking. The only real question that we’re left with there is if and how Desmond made it off the island. As far as that flash-sideways storyline; I thought it… Read more »

I agree with Hansi Rojas!!! The island WAS important to the show, and it was a major draw for many, many viewers. And, I also remember multiple times the writers talking about how the island was a character, too. However, we never learned anything, really, about the history or secret of the island. Yeah, they indicated that the light was a metaphysical source for life, and that the stone held everything in place…. but, hello – you’re not supposed to go down there, right? It’s a fate worse than death, if you do…. I get that Desmond was immune to… Read more »

I’m sad to hear people who have loved the show for so long express feelings of disdain or contempt at the finale. “The End” was beautiful. Having the flash-sideways ending up as a meeting point for the characters prior to moving on to an afterlife was not meant to be a “middle finger” to the fan base; it was meant to give us a feeling of closure, which I appreciate. It was amazing to see Hurly and Libby finally together on that long awaited first date on the beach, and to see Sawyer reunited with Juliet. I would have it… Read more »

I was pleased to see the “closure” of the characters and the interesting way the writers went from current to flashbacks from the past and then on to the the so called purgatory where all the characters touched each other’s lives as a sign that they were ready to move on to the afterlife. It was very touching and comforting when Jacks dad showed him the way to meet up with the others in the quaint little church and shown THE LIGHT as he directed them to the gates of heaven. I followed the first couple of years and know… Read more »

I have already rewritten the ending in my own mind. Instead of walking off into the “bright light,” in my version they check under the church to find out where the island is (because they can cross back into the other reality), and everyone but Ben, Hurley, and Libby return to the island. Ben stays to be with Alex. Hurley and Libby stay because Hurley’s life is pretty darned good. Everyone else, including Jack’s son, take their alternative-reality selves back to the island, where they settle down and become the new set of “Others” under Hugo’s leadership. Without The Man… Read more »

Rose, Bernard, Vincent, and possibly Hurley and Ben may have remained on the Island for a very long time, that still means that they survived, the island was real. What I don’t understand is why some of the characters that died earlier, such as Boone and Ana Lucia weren’t at the church. I guess because they were not as affected by life on the island, and the island didn’t help them to achieve what they were looking for. So I get the ending, and I like the ending, though I would like some other questions to be answered. And my… Read more »

i think that they should have made it more clear as to who survived. now some websites say no one survived and they were all waiting for jack. i don’t know. it seemed to me that the people who got on the plane survived. on the previous page, you say rose & bernard & vincent survive, yet they wernt on the plane that flew off. the finally definitely had poignant scenes. i found myself in tears when they all connect & remember in the sideways world, but i must admit, it should have been more clear and i’m still confused… Read more »